COPPER COINS

Chapter 13: Empty Millstone (IV)

It was just as Xuanmin had said: this version of Liu Chong indeed had his mole on the left cheek, and wore the bluish-gray overcoat as earlier this morning. There didn't seem to be anything off about him.
Clearly, this was the real Liu Chong.

As Liu Chong stepped in through the narrow door, his expression was partly one of confusion, mostly one of frustration. He crossed the threshold hesitantly, looking behind him every once in a while. Only after he took a couple more frightened steps did he take notice of Xuanmin.   
First Liu Chong was stunned, then his face seemed to collapse into itself, his eyebrows drooping. [a] "Just now I saw... I saw grandmother..." [b]
He [c] pointed beyond the narrow door: "Over there."

Grandmother?
That would be Liu-lao-taitai, right?
They had just managed to lose the crowd chasing after them –– surely Liu Chong [c] hadn't brought them back again?!
Xue Xian, hanging lifelessly out of Xuanmin’s pouch, heard Liu Chong’s words and stiffened. He looked at Liu Chong and asked, "Where are they?"

"I chased after her, but grandmother disappeared." Though his face looked sad, Liu Chong's [c] tone was anxious –– he didn't even seem to notice that the voice had not come from Xuanmin himself. "She didn't see me. Now, I can't find her anywhere, no matter how hard I search."
As Liu Chong sucked his own thumb, he looked pitiful. Tilting his head, he looked back longingly at the narrow door, as if trying to see through it. Then, sorrowfully, he mumbled, "I want grandmother to come speak to me..."

Xue Xian pondered what he'd overheard Liu-shiye say to his friend earlier. Liu-lao-taitai seemed to be dead already. Based on the rumor about town, her death had been the fault of Jiang Shining's doctor parents. After she'd passed, the entire Jiang compound had caught fire, and they’d all perished.
Jiang Shining had been dead for three years, so Liu-lao-taitai had probably died around three years ago, too.
Liu Chong [c] had a one-track mind. If he said he missed grandmother, then this meant that he thought about her every minute of every day. These past three years had probably felt extremely lonely for him.

"Let's go." Xuanmin gestured at Liu Chong, then began to walk towards the old shack without further delay.
Maybe it was his alluring high priest aura, or maybe it was the way that he turned on his heels to walk away before anyone could even react... but Liu Chong [c] hurried after him unquestioningly. He stumbled over until he was walking side by side with Xuanmin, then mumbled, "I... I want to find grandmother."

"What's the rush? Let's go inside first," Xue Xian said, playing along.
Liu Chong tried to obey, but couldn't. He said, "I... really need to see her right now."
Xue Xian snapped, "Hold it in!"
Liu Chong stared at Xuanmin's icy profile, as though afraid. After a pause, he courageously blurted out, "How come you can speak without moving your mouth?"
Xuanmin: “...”
Xue Xian went with it: "I'm a ventriloquist. Ah... I can speak using my stomach."
Liu Chong's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. They swivelled around and finally landed on Xuanmin's belly.
Xuanmin: “...”

In the time it took for them to speak, they had already reached the shack's front door. All they had to do now was cross the threshold, and they would be able to escape from the array.
Xuanmin didn't hesitate. He lifted a foot and gestured to Liu Chong to do the same. Clumsily, Liu Chong placed a foot into the threshold too.

Just as Liu Chong made to step into the shack, there came a duuuu noise from somewhere, like something was knocking against the stone flooring of the compound.
"Mn?" Liu Chong had probably never reacted as quickly as he did now.
His foot had frozen in mid-air. "Grandmother!" he yelled. He took his foot back and ran back out.

"Hey! Hold up!" Xue Xian hollered.
He saw Xuanmin raise his hand as if he wanted to pull Liu Chong [c] back. But before Xuanmin could act, there was a weng––– noise in Xue Xian’s mind. His vision went dark, and the world turned upside-down.